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His response was almost instant.
That’s not safe. Just come up to my room and pick it up. I’ll be here until five.
“Ugh. Why is he so hardheaded?” she groused. She looked to Samiah and Taylor. “I have to go. I have a ton of charts to review, and now I have to drive back downtown to pick up my stupid purse.”
They all shared hugs and promised to meet up on Friday.
“There’s a restaurant on South Lamar I’ve been wanting to try,” Samiah called as they walked away. “They serve a spicy hibiscus margarita that’s supposed to be spectacular!”
“Sounds like a plan,” London said. “See you all Friday.”
She slipped behind the wheel and made her way back downtown. Once at the Hilton, she refused to acknowledge her quickening pulse as she stepped inside the lobby and boarded the elevator. She was here to retrieve her clutch. Nothing else.
“Knock on the door. Grab the purse. Leave,” she mumbled.
Simple and easy.
Drew must have been waiting for her at the door. The moment she knocked, it opened. He now wore a slate-gray T-shirt to match his lounging pants, but he was still barefoot and much too sexy for words.
London held out her hand. “Can I please have my clutch?”
“You can come in,” he said, turning from the door and walking back into the room.
“I don’t want to come in,” she said. She inwardly cringed at her churlish tone. She didn’t mean to sound so rude but couldn’t seem to help herself when it came to Drew.
His head fell forward. “Really, London? Don’t you think that’s a bit harsh, especially after last night?”
“I’m sorry,” she said. She was upset with herself. It wasn’t fair to take it out on him. After all, Drew had done exactly what she’d asked of him, ending her dry spell in spectacular fashion. “I just…Never mind.”
Against her better judgment, she entered the room and closed the door behind her.
Drew turned back around, and London was struck by how good the stubble she hadn’t taken the time to notice this morning looked on his strong, square jaw. His T-shirt wasn’t tight by any means, but it was just snug enough to highlight the detail of his chiseled chest.
He cleared his throat, and her eyes shot to his.
Shit.Had she really been staring at him? What waswrongwith her?
She still wanted him.That’swhat was wrong with her.
“My clutch,” London said again, her voice catching on the last word.
His eyes never leaving hers, Drew picked up the black clutch from the conference table and sauntered back toward her. London suppressed the urge to meet him halfway. She was not moving a single inch farther into this den of sinful pleasure.
Once he made it to her, he held out the clutch. But before she could retrieve it, he pulled back, holding it just out of her reach.
“As I said earlier, you don’t have to leave.”
Yes, I do.
But she wasn’t going to.
5
Drew stared out the window of the Uber he’d called not long after London fled his hotel room for the second time in less than twenty-four hours. He’d left soon after, moving into the furnished apartment his assistant had rented for the duration of his time in Austin. His clothes were already hanging neatly in the closet, and the fridge was fully stocked.
But he didn’t want any of the food Larissa had ordered. One whiff of spicy chipotle from a street vendor triggered a memory that his stomach refused to shake. He only hoped the hole-in-the-wall taco stand on the corner from their old place in Austin was still there.
The scenery transitioned from the skyscrapers of downtown to rows of apartment buildings that had seen better days on the city’s east side. He’d spent less than two years here, but the impact this place had on his life was unlike any other. He hated being back here, but it made him appreciate how far he’d come.
